September 29, 2012 - Church at Worship

Sermon: "Powerless, Persistent Prayer Part 4 - The Kneeling Disciple"- Randy Roberts

Pastoral Welcome: Darold Retzer

Child Dedication: Jacob Matthew Wall - Randy Roberts

Meditation:

Pray as if everything depends on God, then work as if everything depends on you. – Martin Luther
If you can’t pray a door open, don’t pry it open. – Lyell Rader
Prayer is surrender—surrender to the will of God and cooperation with that will. If I throw out a boathook from the boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore? Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God. – E. Stanley Jones

Scripture Reading: Luke 18:1–8 NLT -Anthony and Cheri Zuccarelli

Sermon Notes:

What is the purpose of persistent prayer? The parable we consider today is the story
of a woman who was undeniably, annoyingly persistent in the request she made of an
unjust judge. The judge finally gave in to her request not because of its merits or even
because of the woman’s faith but just because of her sheer persistence.
What point is Jesus trying to make? Is he trying to tell us something about God—that
God is like the parent who finally gives in after an hour or a day or a week of badgering by the child? If so, then our prayer lives ought to be characterized by continued and
consistent requests for what we want. Maybe then God will finally give in and grant our
requests.

Or maybe we ought to recruit sheer numbers of people to pray—based on the premise
that if we get enough people to “storm the gates of heaven,” God will finally give up and
give in to our petitions.

But do those notions paint an accurate picture of the God of heaven? If so, then to the
strong and persistent go the answers! And if not? Well, if not, then we need to carefully
consider Jesus’ parable and make certain we understand what he’s saying.

To that theme, then, we turn our thoughts today.

Randy Roberts
Senior Pastor

Note: Child dedications and baptisms are listed in the extras section in the DVD